South Africa/Botswana Photos
 

I asked for some advice before planning our Feb/Mar trip to South Africa and Botswana so I thought I should say thanks to those who responded. I've also posted some photos at:
http://www.pbase.com/toddao/southern_africa_2008

Outside of our safaris, another highlight was our time with Selwyn touring around the Capetown area.

The toughest part was coming back home. We spent three weeks there and I was still not ready to leave.

-Todd

I should probably also comment on our experience with a Green Season Safari in Botswana. Interesting how different the experience was in Sabi Sand from Botswana. My biggest interest is birds, and we actually probably saw more in a shorter period of time in Sabi Sand than we did in Botswana.

However, the scenery in Botswana was more beautiful, and so much more remote. We were truly out in the middle of the wilderness and never saw any other safari vehicles.

Thanks for the great pictures.

Great gallery and captures Todd! I especially liked the weavers nest and the giant owl but they all were beautiful. And just so you all know, I am not posting a photo of me in the outdoor shower when I return, sorry! ;)

Looks like a fabulous trip! Thanks for sharing.

Forgot to ask, did you see Pieter and Rex (the guides that do the Djuma game drive live cam) while you were there?

Carla,

I did see a vehicle out with a single guy and fancy video equipment and I was told they were broadcasting on the internet, but I really didn't know much more about who they were. They actually kept us from getting close to a leopard at one point...but no big deal.

Funny, this was the leopard safari for me. We had incredible experiences with
leopards in both SA and Botswana. However, in 7 days at Kwando we never saw the wild dogs. Our guides told us that hadn't happened in about a year or so. But so it goes. We had a wonderful time and I would gladly return.

Hi Todd,

Nice gallery .... Djuma and Botswana.

What camps did you visit in Botswana? Sorry, i don't recognize any of your guides, but, i recognize your tracker Maas - very enthusiastic!

After viewing the shower shot, I feel like we are well acquainted. Lotsa' leopard activity. You have some different shots such as the mopane worm, African monarch, and frog. Great bird photos and the bird couples and families were lovely. Clever lion in the grass. Since you did not want to come home, might you go back?

Thanks, you captured some animals, like the mopani worms and the green pigeons, that I haven't seen (yet), and a great photo of the Meyers Parrot. Thanks for sharing.

Michael

Lovely shots Todd.

Thanks for the kind words folks.

Lynn...I'd love to go back. Just not exactly sure when. It would be great to see the same area throughout the year to witness and photograph the changing vegetation, and the comings and goings of the various birds/animals. As a nature photographer, I can't imagine a more interesting place for an extended stay. Now I just need to ditch the day job....

One other interesting aspect of our trip was that for 2 of our 7 nights in Botswana we were the only people in the camp other than the staff. It was so incredibly peaceful. The flip side of that is that there were not other safari vehicles out looking for animals, so we may have seen a bit less. But we did spend quite an extended period of time with the leopards in Both SA and Botswana.

Our tracker Maas actually found the leopard we saw in Botswana after our morning safari and stayed with him while our guide Marks came and got us to go back out in the middle of the day. We threw our clothes back on, ran out and wound up following that leopard for two hours. We then came back for about an hour and they took us back out again for our regular late afternoon safari. So, yes they were really wonderful.

Wonderful photos, Todd. I loved the birds and the insects, especially the butterflies on the branches.

I have some of the same shots of the Cape of Good Hope - your pictures brought me back there!

Great pictures. We too toured with Selwyn and met Lilly and the children. It was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip.

What luck to have Botswana to yourselves. You took advantage of it.

Thanks for the photos! We have a trip planned to Botswana in September and it's always good to hear and see positive feedback.

Wonderful photos, Todd. The wildlife certainly cooperated for your photo ops, not to mention the birds, butterflies, and even dragon fly. Maas and Marks apparently make a good tracking/guide team. I love the Cape Town and penguin pics as well. Thanks for sharing.

You must have been really disappointed not to get any good shots of leopards.

;)

Thanks for sharing--very beautiful.

Excellent images, Todd. Looks like the 400/5.6 was a really good choice. I love the bee-eaters and rollers, and the leopards too. All wonderful.

Chris

Beautiful shots.
Don't think I've ever seen a green pigeon before - are they common in Bots.?
Amazing leopard and landscape shots as well.
Thanks for posting.

Were the penguins from Boulders Bay?